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Reflections

Essays from Kristy Forbes exploring PDA, autistic experience, parenting, identity, care, systems and the ordinary moments that shape family life.

This is Autistic Burnout

Sep 11, 2020

When you're autistic and you're not okay, you're really not okay.

Sometimes, everything feels bloody hard.

Setting boundaries, carefully sifting through language in order to avoid hurting others in your expression of bound...

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Autism is my Identity and my Culture

Sep 07, 2020

What I want you to know first and foremost is that I am autistic.

I am an autistic person married to another autistic person, and we have created four perfectly whole autistic children.

We are not broken versions of non au...

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What is it to Pathologise a Human Being?

Sep 02, 2020

What is it to pathologise a human being?

To describe or understand all of their behaviour, their emotions, their wants and needs, their very being as symptoms of disorder.

Many parents will ask questions such as:

"How do I ...

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You’re Already Living with Purpose

Sep 02, 2020

Every day I see memes flow over my socials that place unnecessary pressure on many people who are divergent.
.
I know it’s meant to be positive.
.
Yep, purpose is great.
.
But what **IS** purpose?!
.
Is it what you do with your ...

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I am an Autistic Person. Just Like You.

Aug 31, 2020

Howdy.

I often come in to write this same message, for the followers and commenters who are new to the page.

I am always grateful for the wonderful comments left for me after my written pieces and my video content. It's wh...

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Breaking Down the Communication Barrier

Aug 26, 2020

"Deficits in developing, maintaining, and understanding relationships, ranging, for example, from difficulties adjusting behaviour to suit various social contexts; to difficulties in sharing imaginative play or in making...

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"But everyone does that!" - Learning to Identify the Divergence within Ourselves

Aug 25, 2020
Autistic people aren't only building bridges for non autistic people to understand us, and to learn to communicate with us. We're also building bridges in order to remain connected with people we love, and to build res
...
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What is Neurodivergent Sibling Life?

Aug 19, 2020
What is neurodivergent sibling life?
 
It's one ND child struggling with the sensory dysregulation triggered by their new baby sibling. It's one ND child experiencing anxiety around the triggering of sensory regu
...
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The Unexpected Pressures of Lockdown 2.0

Aug 18, 2020
As an autistic person with a PDA profile, I totally underestimated the impact the demand pressure of phone calls from schools reminding us of "submission day" would have. It isn't my children who are struggling to mana
...
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Let's Talk About Autistic Levels

Aug 12, 2020
Can we talk about autistic 'levels'?
 
They don't indicate level of autistic. There is no "more or less" autistic. They are support levels, indicating the amount of support a person requires. They are also extrem
...
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